In my misspent student years in southern Germany I nourished myself on every imaginable form of Pretzel - or Bretz or Bret, depending on the region and dialect.

The hands-down best, however, are Swabian in Baden-Wuertemburgisch, where they are heavy, dark on the outside, lavishly-salted delights good any time of the day. The best, however, were those eaten for breakfast: split across the center, smeared with sweet (unsalted) butter, and reassembled, then eaten accompanied by strong coffee the consistency of motor oil which keeps you awake for days on end.

Second best, however, are the Swabian 'laugenstangen,' a pretzel-like rod thesize of alarge sausage, about seven inches long by three or four in diameter. These too are split, smeared with butter, and eaten on the run.

The Bavarians make pretzels like they do most things: in far too large and grandiose scale, lacking small homey subtleties.

EFord

Georgia, USA